


Betting is Immoral

by swanqueenfic13



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-04
Updated: 2016-02-04
Packaged: 2018-05-18 06:23:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5901673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swanqueenfic13/pseuds/swanqueenfic13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Bet to see who can kiss the new kid" AU courtesy of @dailyau on tumblr!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Betting is Immoral

“She’s cute,” Will muses, watching the new girl wind her way through the halls.

“Dibs,” Robby Gold says possessively, grinning at her. Ruby snorts.

“Aren’t we being a bit presumptuous, Robby?” Ruby teases. “She’s, like, my age. Maybe she doesn’t like skeevy older guys who got held back three times.” The bold sophomore just winks at her friend (acquaintance, really, but what’s the difference?) as he growls angrily. 

“Why don’t we let her decide?” Emma asks. Emma Swan, the unspoken leader of this little gang of rebels, was a senior, and had taken all of Storybrooke’s troubled youths and misfits under her wing, declaring them her own group of “Lost Kids.” Ruby was new to the group, having started acting out after her mom took off, leaving her with her Granny, just before her freshman year.

“What do you mean?” Will asks.

“I mean, we let her decide who she wants. First one to get a kiss from her wins. Not, like, where you kiss her. But where she kisses you. Voluntarily. Because she wants to. Not a dare, or in spin the bottle, or something,” Emma explains, grinning like she does whenever she thinks of a new scheme.

“I’m in, and you’re all going down,” Robby declares boldly.

“Me, too,” Will adds.

“The only thing I’ll be going down on is her mouth, when she kisses me first,” Ruby adds victoriously. When Emma snickers into her hand, Ruby purses her lips, confused. “What?”

“Nothing, kid. Good luck guys. May the best person win.”

 

Ruby had an advantage.

She was in all of Belle’s classes. She was assigned to be Belle’s buddy, showing her around the school. The administration had hoped that some of Belle’s better qualities would rub off on Ruby, like her studiousness.

“Where’s the library?” Belle asks as they amble through the halls. It was their free period, just before lunch, and they had gotten permission for a tour.

“Um, upstairs, but nobody really uses it much,” Ruby explains. Belle sighs sadly, looking away. “I can show it to you, though. Come on,” she smiles, taking Belle gently by the hand.

“I love libraries,” Belle breathes, releasing Ruby’s hand as they enter the room. It’s hardly what Ruby would call a library. It’s one small, circular room. There are only about three shelves of fiction, maybe five of nonfiction. The rest of the space is taken up by junky, old desktop computers, and smells of mothballs and must.

“Even this crappy little one?” Ruby jokes, getting a stern glare from the old one behind the desk.

“Shh, Ruby! It’s a library,” Belle whispers, scandalized.

“Sorry,” Ruby whispers amusedly, crossing her arms as she watches Belle walk through the stacks, running her finger over every book’s spine. She stays like that, mesmerized until the bell rings, jogging her out of her own head. “Lunch time, bookworm.” Belle grins shyly, running a hand through her hair as they make their way to the cafeteria.

 

“Tell me about your friends,” Belle propositions one day. She no longer needed Ruby’s help getting from class to class, but they had taken to hanging out after school together.

“Which ones?” Ruby stalls.

“Robby Gold, and um, Will Scarlet. I mean, they’re seniors, right?” Ruby nods. She has to be careful not to sabotage her friends, lest she ruin the bet.

“Yeah, Robby’s stayed back a few times, but he’s a pretty good guy, and Will’s pretty nice,” Ruby says simply.

“I heard they both get into a lot of trouble,” Belle says, biting her lip nervously.

“Probably heard that about me, too, right?” Ruby winks as Belle nods. “Yeah, they get into trouble. Robby smokes a lot, gets into fights, screws around with people. He just likes making bets, and winning, and people usually don’t like losing to him. WIll just… He’s cool, I swear, he just… He’s a thief.”

“Like, a real thief?” Belle gasps.

“Like a Robin Hood type thief,” Ruby amends. “Like, one time, his neighbor's dad lost their job, so he stole a pizza from the local pizzeria- still not quite sure how, so don’t ask- and dropped it off at their house.”

“That’s… kind of sweet, I guess,” Belle sighs. Ruby feels her gut twist, like she just sold Belle on her best friends. And then, she adds another layer of guilt. She  _ likes _ Belle, and she’s participating in some stupid bet. “What about you?” Belle suddenly asks.

“What  _ about _ me?” Ruby asks, her face flushing in surprise.

“You get into trouble. What kind?” Belle giggles.

“Um, mostly just bratty trouble. I sneak out of the house, I sometimes get a little drunk, I have a really bad reputation. Nothing, like, illegal. Except for the drinking, I guess,” Ruby explains.

“You shouldn’t drink. It’s bad for you,” Belle says seriously.

“But it’s fun, and this town is boring,” Ruby whines.

“I’m being serious!” Belle squeaks, hitting Ruby. “A drunk driver killed my mom!” Ruby sobers up.

“I’m sorry, Belle,” she whispers.

“It’s fine,” she sniffs. “But next time you’re bored and want to get drunk, why don’t you come see me instead? Maybe you don’t have to get in trouble, anymore.”

“Or maybe, you could get into some trouble with me,” Ruby teases, nudging Belle before letting the subject drop.

 

“What’s your favorite book?” Belle asks one day. They’ve taken to spending their lunch hours in the library, or sitting there after school for hours. Belle had insisted that the library just needed a little love, and the school would start funding it better. She had already convinced the school to get rid of the old, broken computers, and put in some decent furniture. Currently on their lunch hour, nearly a month after Belle started school, they were sitting in the back corner of the library, in the middle of the stacks while Belle helped the librarian take inventory of the books.

“Don’t have one,” Ruby admits, ticking the book off their list. She had been roped into helping Belle, but was having fun spending time with her.

“You don’t have a favorite book?” Belle gasps in surprise, literally dropping the book in her hands. “How do you not have a favorite book? I have so many!”

“I just don’t,” Ruby mumbles, blushing under Belle’s scrutiny. “What’s your favorite book?”

“Okay, so, don’t make fun of me, but I love the  _ Harry Potter _ books. Like, all of them. So much,” Belle giggles.

“Well, I mean, doesn’t everyone love those?” Ruby asks.

“They should,” Belle adds, scooting closer to Ruby. “I love… I think Ginny’s my favorite character. Or maybe Hermione? It’s just… these badass women who do what they want, and everything… It’s amazing, y’know?” Ruby sighs, reaching over Belle to grab the nearest copy of  _ Harry Potter _ , conveniently located on the shelf they’re sitting under. Belle shifts and Ruby falls onto her lap.

“I… I know,” Ruby whispers, suddenly on top of Belle. For a moment, they freeze. Belle is the first to lean in. “Wait,” Ruby squeaks at the last moment, pulling away.

“Oh God, I misread the moment, I’m sorry,” Belle mumbles, scooting away from Ruby.

“No, no, wait, Belle, stop!” Ruby says frantically. “I just… I have to tell you something first.” She curses herself for ever agreeing to this stupid bet. “I like you. Like, a lot, and I want to kiss you.”

“So why…?” Belle trails off, too embarrassed to look Ruby in the eyes. She runs her hands up and down her arms, staring at her toes, knees up against her chest.

“Because I’m an asshole. Me and my friends, like, Robby and Will? They had the idea… They, um, we all thought you were cute. And, like-”

“Ruby, what is going on?” Belle interrupts. Ruby sighs.

“Okay, so, we all thought you were cute, and Robby called dibs on you, and Emma said we should let you choose, and it was like… this bet to see who could get a kiss from you first. And I know that it was wrong, but the rules had to be that it was your idea, you voluntarily, not coerced, or forced or anything. But then I hung out with you, and I really  _ wanted _ to kiss you not to win the stupid bet, but just because I wanted to kiss you. But I still went along with the bet, and I screwed everything up and I’m such an idiot!” Ruby whispers it quickly, terrified that Belle might interrupt.

“I’m not a prize to be won,” Belle says softly, her voice shaking a bit. Ruby isn’t surprised to see tears in her eyes, nor is she surprised to find them in her own. “I thought you were being nice to me because you wanted to be my friend, not to win some stupid bet.”

“I do want to be your friend. I… I  _ like _ being your friend,” Ruby whimpers.

“I wish you had told me,” Belle sighs.

“Because I screwed everything up,” Ruby nods. Belle doesn’t say anything for a moment.

“Did Robby really call ‘dibs’ like I was the last piece of pizza?” she asks, pursing her lips. Ruby nods quickly. “And, um, what were the rules of this bet?”

“It had to be initiated by you,” Ruby explains. “Couldn’t be forced, like not in a game of spin the bottle, or truth or dare, or something. You had to be sober, and you had to be the one to do it. So, like, it doesn’t count if I kiss you.” Ruby glances up at Belle to find her examining Ruby curiously.

“But it counts if I kiss you?” she clarifies, suddenly leaning forward again. Ruby doesn’t know what to do.

“Mhmm,” she hums. “So, um, are we still gonna catalogue-”

“Shut up,” Belle giggles lightly before crashing her lips against Ruby’s, pulling away before Ruby even has a chance to react. “So, that counts?”

“Yep,” Ruby squeaks, her voice an embarrassingly high pitch. She clears her throat when Ruby laughs. “Um, yeah, but I thought-”

“I’m still not happy you guys made a bet out of me. But, I do like you. And I do want to kiss you,” Belle sighs happily, leaning into Ruby. Ruby grins.

“Even though I’m an idiot, and an asshole?” Ruby asks eagerly.

“Well, you  _ do _ like the  _ Harry Potter _ books, so there’s that,” Belle muses, going back to sorting the books. “But if you really like me, you ought to stop with the gambling. Betting is immoral, y’know.” Ruby throws her head back, laughing far too loud for a library.

“Yeah, I know,” Ruby murmurs, picking up the list and working to finish the inventory.


End file.
